I just left my thirteen year old's room. It's almost 11:00pm. He said it was past his bedtime, but we had a good chat. A heart-to-heart after a long day of school. Oh, nothing serious happened. Nothing terrifying or abnormal. Just a normal, lonely, embarrassing, feeling-left out and feeling-stupid-kind-of-day. He missed pronounced the capital of Iowa in a geography speech (he doesn't know French). He called Beyonce a "he" (I'm glad he couldn't pull up a visual of her curves in a body suit). And he didn't have anyone to talk to for the entire day. I would feel kind of invisible as well...and maybe even choose to be.
Where do you go as a parent? How do you instill the love of the Father and the design of the Creator? How do you teach pop culture without the promise that if you know these names and faces, you will be liked? How do you renew a mind and drop in courage while listening to and sympathizing with real middle school troubles?
Two hours of time. That's where you start. In a safe place. No strings attached. No distractions. Just a boy on a pillow, and bring your computer. Lots of searching and watching and listening and looking away. What did he conclude? He doesn't care for most of the music anyhow. He doesn't want to watch most of the videos anyhow.
And the conclusion...he must not walk in fear: fear of other peoples' opinions, fear of embarrassment, fear of loneliness, fear of abnormal design. But take heart, in this world there are "thinkers" and there are "talkers", and that's part of the amazing plan. God has called you to something great...don't miss it!
Monday, January 30, 2017
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Ellie Turns Four!
Ellie celebrated her 4th birthday at the Allen Hospital. We had two special guests! Nurse Leah came and did check-ups for all the girls and their baby dolls. It was so exciting to have a real nurse in the house. We also had a retired nurse stop in on her way to Florida--Grandma Sue spent 24 hours in Charlotte in order to be with us. Lots of booboos were carefully taken care of on this day!
Love Week
We had a blast serving in our city during Love Week 2012. The kids were awesome! We made cookies and made a poster at the Ronald McDonald House; we delivered Friendship Trays to the elderly and shut-ins; we painted and cleaned at The Summit, a housing complex in the city; we packed snacks and toiletry packs for homeless children; we wrote letters to the men and women protecting our country. Just a cool week to focus on others, not ourselves!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Emmett Wilson Allen
#4 - another boy
born at 5:37pm 3/5/11
7 lb 8 oz
20 inches
Emmett -
Hebrew - truth
German - whole, entire, strength, strong worker
(Emmett Till - African American youth whose lynching was one of the key events leading up to the American Civil Rights Movement)
Wilson - after Royal Wilson Jones - Chris' maternal grandfather
German - determined, resolute
Friday, March 4, 2011
Princess Party
Here are a few photos from Ellie's 3rd birthday party. The girls all had fun...and the boys were great helpers! Lots of pink (as requested by the birthday girl)--pink crowns, pink necklaces & bracelets, pancakes with pink strawberries and whipped cream and pink cupcakes. Happy Birthday, Ellie!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Studying Daniel Boone
It doesn't get much cooler for a group of young boys--studying the great frontiersman, Daniel Boone. Indians, hunting, exploring, guns...pretty exciting stuff!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Happy Birthday, Grayson!
We have some creative boys in this household who like to mess around with video technology. Here's the silly video Tait and Chris made for Grayson's bday. Boy humor--they giggle every time!
Merry Christmas, Nana and Papa!
This year Chris's parents proposed a cool idea: rather than buying them Christmas gifts, they asked that we would bless someone else instead. So our family was able to support a sweet refugee family in our city through Sports Outreach (the same ministry we travel to Africa with). It was a joy to have the opportunity to personally meet, greet and deliver Christmas gifts to Luon, Ayoi and their family. Plus a powerful testimony for our kids! Merry Christmas, Nana and Papa!
For some reason the video clip is getting cut-off when it's embedded into the blog. Double-click on the video to make it screen size or you can also watch the video here!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Fall Helpers
Chris and I enjoyed a few conferences/get-aways thanks to some special help--two visitors from the Midwest!
THANK YOU!
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